Collision Conference 2018

Discussing Tech with Experts
By Ko Maruyama

There are so many conferences to choose from - and even with the growing number of online presence that these events have. Being able to attend, in person, and meet colleagues from around the world, listen to the leaders in your field, and engage with other attendees one on one continues to be a huge part of any event's appeal.

Collision continues to add to its list of speakers for this year's conference. While "technology" covers a wide and diverse set of expertise, the conference appears to have many bases covered. Ranging from IoT and net neutrality to CEOs of the world's top tech businesses, Collision hosts discussions for so many facets of technology and business.

The fact that the conference is held in New Orleans in between weekends of JAZZ FEST is amazing.

Check out more about the conference below:

Collision, 'America's fastest growing technology conference, announced the first speakers for the 2018 edition. Miguel McKelvey, Brad Smith and Susan Herman will join global CEOs, entrepreneurs, celebrities, activists and investors for the four day event taking place April 30-May 3.

Now in its 5th year, Collision has grown from a gathering of 2,000 attendees to an expected 25,000 in 2018. Collision will host discussions across industries from music and technology to robotics, IoT, climate change, net neutrality, hacking and Hollywood.

Some of the Collision speakers will include

- Brad Smith, President, Microsoft

As Microsoft's president and chief legal officer, Brad's remit covers the company's corporate, external and legal affairs. He leads on issues including privacy, environmental sustainability, security and more for the global tech giant.

- Susan Herman, President, ACLU

Susan is a lawyer, lecturer, author and activist. Has working daily to defend the individual rights and liberties of citizens of the United States. Susan played a vital role in the 2015 Supreme court ruling which secured same sex marriage rights across the US.

- Sophia Bush, Actress & Activist - The Girl Project

Actress, director, and activist. Sophia has starred in the drama series One Tree Hill, and in Chicago P.D. She is co-founder of The Girl Project which aims to unleash the economic and social power of girls through education around the world.

Ko Maruyama is a freelance animator in Los Angeles. In addition to working on film and broadcast animations, Ko teaches at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design - focusing on motion design. When working, writing or testing software allows, you can find him lending a hand in the After Effects board and lurking among the Cinema4D, Visual Effects and Photoshop posts within the DMNForums.Related Keywords:IBCShow, NABShow, animation, Mac, CreativeMac, maxon, SIGGRAPH, C4D, 3D, ipisoft, animationartist, Adobe, photoshop, photography, comicon, Automatic Duck, demo, VFX, motion graphics